Bushfires continue to rage

SYDNEY: Firefighters across NSW remained on edge last night as several bushfires burned out of control in the state’s north, with authorities issuing an emergency warning for a fire burning across almost 7000ha at Shark Creek.

The fire is burning in the Yuraygir National Park northeast of Grafton and Rural Fire Service crews were backburning near properties in Angourie.

Firefighters spent the weekend battling dozens of intense north NSW blazes, with watch and act alerts remaining in place for a fire at Drake, near Tenterfield, and another at Bees Nest, near Armidale.

The Bees Nest fire has razed 63,000ha — twice the size of the Sydney city council area — while the fire at Drake has burnt almost 33,000ha.

More than 50 fires were burning across the state yesterday.

The RFS confirmed four homes had been destroyed in Drake, and one in Tenterfield. A Lidsdale home and four Tenterfield homes were damaged, while 22 outbuildings, two car yards and a pistol club were razed.

Armidale, Clarence Valley, Glen Innes, Inverell, Tenterfield, Uralla and Walcha local government areas have been declared natural disaster zones, allowing residents to access state and federal financial support.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked firefighters in Parliament yesterday and predicted a hot and dry summer ahead in NSW and Queensland.

In Queensland, some people have been allowed to return to their homes in the Gold Coast hinterland, but the area’s bushfire crisis is not over.

Last night, 73 fires were burning from the southeast corner of Queensland to the Cairns hinterland, although that figure fluctuated throughout the day.

People in the small Queensland town of Ballandean were told to leave yesterday evening as firefighters battled another bushfire in the Granite Belt.

Unpredictable winds were creating challenging conditions for firefighters, grounding aircraft as emergency crews urged people to leave O’Reilly, another area in the path of fires.

The warnings came just hours after police escorted some residents back to their properties in the Gold Coast hinterland for their first glimpse at homes burnt at the weekend.

Eleven homes and the historic Binna Burra Lodge have been destroyed. Yesterday, that fire was still burning on both sides of Binna Burra Rd.

Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said another urgent focus yesterday was to get fodder to hungry livestock.

‘‘I do know there have been some substantial livestock losses . . . I don’t have an estimate of numbers yet.’’

Fortyseven homes and properties have been either damaged or burnt down in Queensland since the crisis began on Thursday.

Temperatures and winds are expected to drop tomorrow. — AAP